Temporary Closure of Section of Lough Atalia Road from 23rd March to May, 2015

ratracer

According to the City Trib FB page, Lough Atalia will be closed ot traffic for two months to allow the road level be lowered under the railway bridge. I presume this is to facilitate the future development of the Galway Docks?

What a traffic nightmare this is gonna be:mad::mad:
https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=4AEdxymz4zc

Diabhal Beag

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Whimsical_

It says on Connaght Tribune fb that it's being closed to facilitate "lowering the road under the bridge". Presumably thats the railway bridge that trucks have got stuck under once or twice in the last few years.

It's going to be a complete nightmare.
You'd think it might be easier to just put up lots of signs along all routes leading to that point that there's a bridge ahead that trucks won't fit under.

Stella Virgo

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

It says on Connaght Tribune fb that it's being closed to facilitate "lowering the road under the bridge".

It's going to be a complete nightmare.
You'd think it might be easier to just put up lots of signs along all routes leading to that point that there's a bridge ahead that trucks won't fit under.

it to facilitate the massive new docks/marina development that will allow cruise ships to berth in the new area

fergiesfolly

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

It says on Connaght Tribune fb that it's being closed to facilitate "lowering the road under the bridge". Presumably thats the railway bridge that trucks have got stuck under once or twice in the last few years.

It's going to be a complete nightmare.
You'd think it might be easier to just put up lots of signs along all routes leading to that point that there's a bridge ahead that trucks won't fit under.

In fairness, theres not much point in having the main route to a port being inaccessable to the type of vehicles that need access the most.

_Whimsical_

Stella Virgo wrote: »

it to facilitate the massive new docks/marina development that will allow cruise ships to berth in the new area

How will lowering the road facilitate that ?

Mrs OBumble

Mmm ... drainage could be interesting ...

Sconsey

....annnd I finally have a reason to go buy a bicycle helmet.

snubbleste

Kerney's petrol station will go out of business

ronnie3585

2rkehij30qtza5

You can still access Lough Atalia from the road at the Fairgreen and from the junction at the bottom of College Road...I presume it's just the stretch from the junction of the Fairgreen to just before the petrol station that will be closed?

Eeden

here's the link to the Tribune article:

http://www.connachttribune.ie/galway-news/item/2518-traffic-carnage-in-the-offing

as you can see, this hasn't been definitely given the go-ahead yet.

Angry councillors are being asked to vote on Monday on a project which will have serious implications for traffic in Galway – closing one of the main arteries into the city for up to two months.

The councillors are due to vote on plans to lower the road under the Lough Atalia railway bridge, in order to facilitate heavy goods vehicles, even though the plans had not been circulated to the elected members by last night.

Notch000

2 months to dig a hole and retar it ???? someone hold my beer

folbotcar

Well if they do it in the Summer when the schools are out it'll minimise the disruption. But since when have they ever made sensible decisions? The most likely scenario is that College Road will turn into a car park for the duration unless someone gets creative with the signage. A lot of tourist Dublin and south bound traffic seems to head down Lough Atalia for some reason.

The problem however is that it has to be done at some point. Ironically they probably will only have to take it down to the old road level so you can't even blame the original 19th century builders. Actually there wasn't even a road along Lough Atalia back then.

I don't see how it will take two months though.

bonzodog2

dilallio wrote: »

For the 2 months they should terminate the Dublin-Galway & Limerick-Galway routes at Oranmore or Athenry and operate a bus replacement service.

I'm guessing here, but I'd say that a lot more people travel under that bridge every day than over it.

How would this help?

dilallio

bonzodog2 wrote: »

How would this help?

You are correct - It won't. I misunderstood what they are actually doing here.

/feeling stupid now

Naux

Notch000 wrote: »

2 months to dig a hole and retar it ???? someone hold my beer

Depends how deep they will be digging the hole!!!! Your beer might be well flat by the time you were finished.................... :D

dloob

There is a PDF on the harbour extension site of the proposed change to the bridge.
http://www.galwayharbourextension.com/?wpdmdl=752

Doesn't it tend to flood under the bridge as it is?
I wonder how they will manage that.

snubbleste

What was the vote result?

Notch000

dloob wrote: »

There is a PDF on the harbour extension site of the proposed change to the bridge.
http://www.galwayharbourextension.com/?wpdmdl=752

Doesn't it tend to flood under the bridge as it is?
I wonder how they will manage that.

nice render, still cant see how this work could take anywhere near 2 months,

antoobrien

Notch000 wrote: »

nice render, still cant see how this work could take anywhere near 2 months,

They have to make sure that they don't affect the foundation of the railway bridge. It's also worth considering that there have been several projects blown way off by unexpected delays e.g. services that they didn't know were there.

They'll probably have to dig up 2m of roadway to get that 1m drop in, so think of this as a new road construction rather than a resurfacing job. That said, I hope they make sure the surface is right from the moneen in as part of this.

Lapin

Notch000 wrote: »

nice render, still cant see how this work could take anywhere near 2 months,

Health & Safety.

They have to work a lot slower than usual in order not to knock that fella in the render off his bike.

Notch000

just noticed hes not wearing a helmet and should not be on the foot path, luckily there is a cycle path in the second picture that abruptly ends under the bridge where he will most certainly get knocked down as he merges onto the road with traffic, or drond in the spring tide floods

Iwannahurl

That image has Irish Roads Engineer stamped all over it.

Presumably the cyclist is deliberately included. If so, it's a farcical proposal imo.

There is no indication of where the "cycle path" starts, and it ends abruptly for no apparent reason where the footpath takes a sharp turn to the right. It seems that cyclists are expected to proceed (illegally) along the footpath, veer onto the road at a heavily trafficked pinch point, or else teleport to the other side of the bridge.

Lough Atalia Road is already a favourite site for illegal parking and two-way cycling on the footpath. My guess is that this proposed "improvement", "upgrade" or whatever it is be called will reinforce such behaviour.

WallyGUFC

Do you think the bridge is wide enough for a cycle lane though? I don't. There should be a full cycle lane or none whatsoever though. Having one end so abruptly is crazy and will lead to confusion and inevitably, collisions.

stampydmonkey

WallyGUFC wrote: »

Do you think the bridge is wide enough for a cycle lane though? I don't. There should be a full cycle lane or none whatsoever though. Having one end so abruptly is crazy and will lead to confusion and inevitably, collisions.

You'd swear these cyclists were in the tour de france. Can one not dismount and walk through or maybe take some time to break and wait till its clear. The bridge is ancient and I agree theres defo no room for a cycle lane through the bridge especially when you think of 2 artics passing each other.

Iwannahurl

The modifications suggested in the image are ridiculous, and have clearly been proposed by someone who is clueless about provision for cycling.

Lough Atalia Road is a busy commuter route for cyclists. Inviting them to cycle on the footpath, or to dismount in order to accommodate congestion-causing motor vehicles, is not a sustainable solution, imo.

stampydmonkey

Iwannahurl wrote: »

The modifications suggested in the image are ridiculous, and have clearly been proposed by someone who is clueless about provision for cycling.

Lough Atalia Road is a busy commuter route for cyclists. Inviting them to cycle on the footpath, or to dismount in order to accommodate congestion-causing motor vehicles, is not a sustainable solution, imo.

I agree its not ideal but what do you want them to do here. Its the main access to the port. They will hardly spend a few hundred grand suspending or cantelevering something over the water on the other side. There isnt enough room under the bridge for everything.

Mrs OBumble

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Lough Atalia Road is a busy commuter route for cyclists. Inviting them to cycle on the footpath, or to dismount in order to accommodate congestion-causing motor vehicles, is not a sustainable solution, imo.

So what do cyclists do now, and why can they not continue to keep doing it?

Iwannahurl

When I used to cycle that route on a regular basis, I always travelled on the road.

I would prefer cyclists to be on the road, since that can be safer and does not involve losing right of way.

However, I am aware that many cyclists feel safer cycling off-road (even if that is a false belief in some circumstances), which is why many of them go up on the footpaths along that road. Speeding is endemic on the Lough Atalia Road, and I recall that ponding was also a significant problem in wet weather. AFAIK, cyclists also use the footpath to avail of this route.

If cyclists are invited by the Council to cycle on the footpaths, as they are in various places around the city, then that sets them up for conflict with pedestrians. On the other hand, a 'solution' often favoured by Irish roads engineers is simply to shunt cyclists onto the road again, at a point arbitrarily decided by said engineers. Ireland's road network is already over-supplied with such travesties (http://dublinobserver.com/2010/10/cycle-lane-highlights-in-dublin/). There's a relatively recent example in Dublin, which I can't find just now, of where cyclists are directed up and down pavements for reasons nothing to do with cycle safety and utility.

I would therefore prefer an on-road solution, where cyclists are prioritised and protected, and where pedestrian space is not reduced.

Lowering the speed limit on Lough Atalia Road would help, or failing that at least strict enforcement of the current limit for starters. IMO the solution should be based on cycle and pedestrian safety on the entire link, taking cognisance of travel patterns on the entire route. Unfortunately, it's highly likely that this project will only be considered in isolation, which means cyclists using that route will just be left to work it out for themselves.

what_traffic

Who is paying for these works? City Council, Galway Harbour or Irishrail?

gordongekko

what_traffic wrote: »

Who is paying for these works? City Council, Galway Harbour or Irishrail?

all 3 equals taxpayers

Sniipe

Isnt' there flooding in that area already? I wonder how they will manage to lower the road and clear the flooding. Could it possibly be below high tide level?

Also stopping the bike lane right in front is a bad idea. They should stop it further back if they are not willing to allow a cycle lane, otherwise you would probably have a cyclist merging at the narrowest point. I don't see a cyclist stopping really...

I had a bit of a chuckle at the picture. It should show two trucks, pedestrians and multiple cyclists

Iwannahurl

Sniipe wrote: »

I had a bit of a chuckle at the picture. It should show two trucks, pedestrians and multiple cyclists

You'd have to wonder what was in their heads when they were producing that image.

ned14

I can remember there being a large puddle underneath that bridge on several occasions in the past. It seems like lowering the road is a cheap fix to the real issue which is being pushed down the line. The bridge needs to be redesigned to allow more clearance beneath it. Make sure you bring your wellies for any future walks under the bridge...

BeardySi

One would hope they'd build in a sump with an automatic pump to prevent flooding...




One would hope....

Sniipe

I was thinking pump myself, but it seems like a stop gap... Bare in mind that I'm an engineer

...software engineer...

ratracer

So I today's city tribune (pg7), mayor Padraig is going to do all he can to find out about the city council's traffic plan for incidents like the one in the docks yesterday. Traffic was diverted at the radisson for 3 hrs yesterday and the city was gridlocked. Yet this is the same road that needs to be closed for two months??

antoobrien

ratracer wrote: »

So I today's city tribune (pg7), mayor Padraig is going to do all he can to find out about the city council's traffic plan for incidents like the one in the docks yesterday. Traffic was diverted at the radisson for 3 hrs yesterday and the city was gridlocked. Yet this is the same road that needs to be closed for two months??

The scheduled closure won't be as severe as the incident yesterday as they had to stop all traffic on the docks yesterday (Queen St was closed) e.g. during yesterdays incident the road closures would have prevented access to the docks from Eyre Sq as well. These types of closure will not be required for these works (that's not to say it's an idea situation).

ratracer

antoobrien wrote: »

The scheduled closure won't be as severe as the incident yesterday as they had to stop all traffic on the docks yesterday (Queen St was closed) e.g. during yesterdays incident the road closures would have prevented access to the docks from Eyre Sq as well. These types of closure will not be required for these works (that's not to say it's an idea situation).

That's true, I'd forgotten about that aspect alright.

Iwannahurl

ratracer wrote: »

So I today's city tribune (pg7), mayor Padraig is going to do all he can to find out about the city council's traffic plan for incidents like the one in the docks yesterday. Traffic was diverted at the radisson for 3 hrs yesterday and the city was gridlocked. Yet this is the same road that needs to be closed for two months??

The Lord Mayor said that it took him 45 minutes to "travel" from the lights at Moneenageisha to City Hall. That's under a kilometre (900 metres according to Google Maps) so he was travelling at around 25-33% of walking speed. People missed appointments because "they couldn't move", the Mayor said. I'll be interested to see what the "Master Plan" he mentions has to say about such paralysis.

dilallio

Galway City Council have posted a set of traffic management proposals:
http://www.galwaycity.ie/GeneralNews/250414_02.html

TheBorg

gonna be a nightmare around the town

jmapell

This is going to add a good 20 minutes to my daily commute allowing for traffic.

I understand the reason for doing it and I'm all for the new harbour development and making access for trucks easier but 2 months of a road closer is demented!

Surely they could find someone to do the job faster than that..

dilallio

This is one project which could be shortened by working shifts around the clock.

However, there is no mention of this option in any of the 6 presented by Tobins to the City Council.

Also, unless the Texaco petrol station between the bridge and Harbour Hotel significantly reduce their prices, their business will be severely impacted by the road closure.

Eeden

When is all this supposed to happen? or has that not been decided yet?

Mrs OBumble

dilallio wrote: »

This is one project which could be shortened by working shifts around the clock.

However local residents would probably like to sleep at some stage during the night

Laviski

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

However local residents would probably like to sleep at some stage during the night

the only people that would be affected by noise would be mainly the radision and possibly the harbor hotel but that is a good distance.

anyways traffic is bad regularly enough don't think poeple will notice much

stampydmonkey

Works should be flat out all day and night till they are done. The saving in disruption to the whole city will negate the extra cost for the 24hr works.

dilallio

Unbelievable - According to Enda Cunningham from the City Tribune, the City Council cannot do 24 hr work on this project because a female otter lives nearby. FFS

Diabhal Beag

Not the otter's fault that thick truck drivers can't judge their height.